Last Sunday, I attended my first ever ice hockey game - I should write, my two first ever ice hockey games. Some friends had had the bright idea to organize an afternoon to go and watch a game as a group. They chosed to see the Karjala tournament, in which Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic and Russia take part. It's not a very important tournament since it takes place four times per year, and the best players are at that time in Canada for the national league, but it's still four national teams playing, among the best in that sport, so you can expect a good show.

And it was ! Our ticket would allow us to attend two games in one afternoon. The first one was Czech Republic against Russia; the stadium was half-empty from spectators, but the players were particularly violent to compensate. Mainly the Czechs: what a band of fighters ! One player would hit another and send him crash in the fence, another would stick his knee in his rival's ribs... Penalties came one after another, without anyone being hurt, luckily. At one point, they even gathered for a real fight, four referees had to come to take them appart ! I must say I thought it was rather funny, especially if you compare with a soccer game, where just pulling some other player's t-shirt is enough to get you out of the game. Both teams were rather equal in strength, and Russia eventually won in the extra times, 4-3.

The stadium was pretty full during the second game. That's because Sweden is Finland's best ennemy when it comes to ice hockey, and their meetings are always very popular. This time both teams were not so violent, but we still had some good show: not only did Finland win, but they totally crushed Sweden by an unexpected 7-0 ! Imagine how crazy the crowd was ! Of course, this time the atmosphere in the stadium was incredible, I loved it.

Altogether, I can tell I loved that afternoon. Watching live ice hockey is much more exciting that attending a soccer game. First, the game itself is very active. Players fly on the ice, turn on the spot, hit each over at full speed, fall and get back up faster than I could tell, the puck goes so fast you can hardly follow it, there is non-stop action and you can't get your eyes away from the ice rink. Also, organizers do everything they can to keep the atmosphere up and loud: when getting in you get a big piece of cardboard you fold and use it to hit your hands, it's much more noisy and less painful than clapping; cheerleaders start dancing every time the game stops, and it happens often; gifts are offered to some spectators, there is a mascot walking around, little games on the big screens to encourage the crowd to scream or wave... You don't have a minute to get bored, and you don't need to be a big hockey fan to enjoy yourself.

To sum up, I really loved it, and I can't wait to attend another game ! I managed to record Finland's first goal, here is a little video for a change :)